Greetings! July is Disability Pride Month and, as an engineer with disabilities, I want to celebrate it with all of you! Please tell me what you're proud of in the comments below!
It has taken me years to understand my disabled identity as a source of pride. I didn’t choose to be born disabled or become disabled, and sometimes (not always) disability can be a source of pain and, for some, even shame. So, what does disability pride mean to me? To answer that question for myself, I needed to explore pride in many contexts. For example, the LGBTQ community has embraced pride as a key value in the pursuit of equality. One way to show pride is choosing to love who you love openly, boldly, and shamelessly. Similarly, to be proud of your town, your country, your family, your company, your traditions, your school, your roots, and even your favorite sports team is to celebrate the legacy, achievements, and/or positive impact in the world from the group you belong to or otherwise support.
I think disability pride is similar. If I could describe my disability pride, I would say this:
I am proud when:
* I choose to live boldly every day as a disabled person.
* I advocate for myself and others to achieve, promote, or create access in otherwise inaccessible spaces.
* I read about D/deaf and disabled authors and civil rights activists like Judy Heumann, Haben Girma, Elsa Sjunneson, Nadina LaSpina, Frank Bowe, and many others, because they make me realize that I owe many of my rights and my freedoms to a legacy of trail-blazers.
* Instead of cursing and hating my body for high pain or high fatigue days, I choose to love my body in whatever way it chooses to present itself each day.
* Instead of trying to perform like a nondisabled person by pushing my body to its limit, I rest and ask for help when I need to.
* Instead of hiding my disability at work out of fear, I speak up and seek accommodations when I need to.
* I advocate for accessibility in the design and development of the products I work with as an engineer.
* I see everyone benefitting from the inventions of disabled people.
And I am proud of:
* My choice to use a wheelchair despite being ambulatory after recognizing that it was the right tool for me.
* Every day I choose to explore the world in my wheelchair even when I know that I may encounter access barriers and ignorant comments.
* The times when my advocacy for design accessibility at work has been successful.
* The countless times that my neurodivergence has enabled me to provide insight and perspectives that have in turn added unique value to my work.
* The privilege I’ve had to educate others, to open minds and hearts, and to do my best to speak up for those who don’t always have that privilege.
If you have disability, temporary or permanent, I hope that there's something on this list that inspires that pride in you.
What are you proud of?
#DisabilityPride #DisabilityPrideMonth #disability